In December 2016, BNDES presented a public call with the aim of receiving proposals to obtain non-refundable financial support for proposing public policies regarding the IoT, a topic that has entered the strategic agenda of the Brazilian government. Minister Gilberto Kassab of the MCTIC signed a transfer to the bank of 17 million real ($5.4 million) at BNDES' headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, focused on IoT initiatives.

According to the report, the Internet of Things offers a unique opportunity and Brazil is well positioned to capture its value (read more here—this article is also in Portuguese). "By 2025, the Internet of Things will have a greater economic impact than advanced robotics, cloud technologies and even the mobile internet," the report says. "The expected impact in Brazil is $50 billion to $200 billion per year, which represents about 10 percent of our country's GDP."

Throughout this year, the study explains, members of the consortium, BNDES and MCTIC have invested time and effort to enable Brazil to benefit from this technological wave. "The IoT Action Plan for Brazil is a key milestone in this trajectory, as it consolidates a strategic vision on the Internet of Things," the report states. "Its collaborative construction engages diverse actors from the public and private sectors, from business associations and academia."